Textile lubricants



TEXTILE LUBRICANTS Marshall Duke, Morristown, Fred Fortess, Summit, andConrad Hohing, Jr., Morn'stown, N. 3., assignors to Celanese Corporationof America, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing.Application March 7, 1952, Serial No. 275,464

Claims. (Cl. 252-83) This invention relates to textile lubricants andrelates more particularly to textile lubricants for the treatment oforganic derivative of cellulose textile materials.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved lubricantcomposition for application to yarns or other textile materials having abasis of an organic derivative of cellulose for the purpose oflubricating and conditioning said textile materials.

A further object of this invention is to provide a textile lubricant ofimproved anti-static properties for the treatment of continuous filamentyarns having a basis of an organic derivative of cellulose.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed description and claims.

It is customary to apply a lubricant composition to yarns and othertextile materials having a basis of an organic derivative of celluloseto lubricate and condition the yarns and render the said yarns moreamenable to winding, twisting, weaving, knitting and the like operationsto which they are normally subjected during their production and use. Tobe satisfactory, the lubricant composition should, among other things,not only impart to the yarn the degree of lubrication necessary topermitf the ready handling of the yarn, but should be stable so as toretain its properties substantially unchanged OVi extended periods oftime. In addition, the lubrica composition should have anti-staticproperties, i. c. ,it should prevent the development of static chargeson the yarns during the handling of the same, since such static chargesmay build up to a magnitude sufliciently great to cause considerabledifiiculties during the various handling operations.

According to the present invention, a lubricant composition capable ofmeeting all of the foregoing requirements is prepared by blendingtogether a mineral oil, an alkyl phenol, a lower aliphatic acid ester ofa vegetable oil, a modified vegetable oil, a higher fatty acid, an amineand an alkyl phosphate.

The mineral oil, which may be present in the lubricant composition inamounts of from about 30 to 65% by weight, is advantageously a highlyrefined white mineral oil having good stability. The mineral oil mayhave a viscosity of between about 50 and 85 S. U. V. to produce alubricant composition having a viscosity of between about 109 and 250 S.U. V. All the viscosities are measured at 100 F.

The alkylated phenol, which may be present in the lubricant compositionin amounts of from about 2 to 5% by weight, increases the solubility ofthe various constituents of the composition, lowers the viscosity of thecomposition as a whole and improves the wetting power of the same. Whileit is preferred to employ diamyl phenol in the lubricant composition,other alkylated phenols such as diamyl and dibutyl derivatives ofphenols,

cresols and xylenols are also useful. These alkylated P phenols may beprepared from any of the individual pure phenols, cresols and xylenols,for example, or they may 2,727,860 Patented Dec. 20, 1955 be preparedfrom the technical mixed grades of these substances.

The lubricant composition also contains from about 2 to 6% by weight ofa lower aliphatic acid ester of a vegetable oil. Examples of suchvegetable oil organic esters are the formyl, acetyl, propionyl andbutyryl esters of castor oil and castor oil derivatives, specificexamples being acetylated castor oil and butyl acetyl ricinoleate.

The modified vegetable oil, which may be present in the lubricantcomposition in amounts of from about 5 to 25% by weight, isadvantageously an oxidized peanut oil. This oil may, however, bereplaced in whole or in part by sulphonated olive oil or sulfated higherfatty alcohols or by oxidized olive oil or teaseed oils, all of whichserve to soften the yarn. The term modified vegetable oil is employedherein to designate oils of this type.

The higher fatty acid present in the lubricant composition may be eitherof the saturated or unsaturated type and may contain between 8 and 18 Catoms. Suitable higher fatty acids are, for example, oleic acid,caprylic, capric and lauric. The higher fatty acid may be present in thelubricant composition in amounts of between about 2 and 10% by weight.

The lubricant composition also contains from about 3 to 20% by weight ofan amine, which is preferably an alkanolamine. The amine reacts with thehigher fatty acid in the lubricant composition to form a soap in situ.Advantageously, the amine and the higher fatty acid are present in. thelubricant composition in substantially stoichiometric proportions.However, the presence of a small excess of either one or the other ofthese substances is not objectionable. Examples of suitable amines aretriethanolamine, diethanolamine, dibutylethanolamine,diethylethanolamine and diethylcyclohexylamine.

The alkyl phosphate which forms the last ingredient of the lubricantcomposition and which imparts significantly improved anti-staticcharacteristics thereto may be present in the said lubricant compositionin amounts of from about 4 to 20% by weight. The alkyl phosphate may befully esterified, but is advantageously only partially esterified,containing between about 1 and 2 alkyl groups per molecule. The alkylgroups in the alkyl phosphate may be straight or branched, and may besaturated or unsaturated, and advantageously contain from 8 to 18 Catoms. "H'preparing-the alkylphosphates,

there is preferably employed the process disclosed in Fortess et al.,application Serial No. 182,614, filed August 31, 1950, now U. S. PatentNo. 2,676,975. According to this process a solid, ester-formingphosphorus acid derivative such as, for example, phosphorus pentoxide,phosphorus tetroxide and phosphorus pentachloride is dispersed in aninert diluent which may advantageously be all or a portion of themineral oil that is to be employed in the lubricant. The dispersion isthen mixed with an alcohol having an alkyl chain of the desired type inan amount suflicient to produce the degree of esterification desired inthe alkyl phosphate.

To form the lubricant composition, the several ingredients may beblended together in any desired manner. Best results are obtained,however, if the amine is added to the mixture of all the otheringredients so that it will react with the acid to form a soap in thepresence of said other ingredients.

The lubricant composition of this invention is eminently suited for thelubrication of cellulose acetate yarns, particularly continuous filamentyarns, and will be described specifically in connection therewith sincecellulose acetate yarns are commercially the most important organicderivative of cellulose yarns at the present time. However, it may alsobe employed for the lubrication of other organic derivative of celluloseyarns such as, for example, yarns of cellulose propionate, cellulosebutyrate, cellulose acetate propionate and cellulose acetate butyrate.

The following examples are given to illustrate this invention further.

' Example I There are blended together 55.0 parts by weight of a highlyrefined white mineral oil having a S. U. V. of 50, 4.5 parts by weightof diamyl phenol, 5.0 parts by weight of butyl acetyl ricinoleate, 16.0parts by Weight of oxidized peanut oil, 5.0 parts by weight of oleicacid and 10.0 parts by weight of a mixture containing 50% by weight ofthe phosphate esters of mixed decanols containing, on the average, 1 /2alkyl groups per molecule. To the mixture so formed, there is added 4.5parts by weight of tn'ethanolamine.

The resultant lubricant composition is stable even when maintained atelevated temperatures for extended periods of time, showing noappreciable change in pH, viscosity or the like. It shows littletendency to absorb moisture from the atmosphere and is stable when mixedwith small amounts of acetone as is likely to occur when applied tofreshly spun cellulose acetate yarn. The

lubricant composition shows little or no tendency to corrode black ironand may, therefore, be safely handled in black iron equipment.

Cellulose acetate yarns treated with this lubricant composition show notendency to develop static when subjected to the normal textiletreatments and are otherwise readily handled during the said textiletreatments.

Example 11 w There are blended together 55.5 parts by weight of a highlyrefined white mineral oil having a S. U. V. of 50,

" parable to those of the lubricant composition of Example I, but has animproved lubricity. v It is to be understood that the foregoing detaileddescription is given merely by way of illustration and that manyvariations may be made ut departing from thespirit6f6ur invention.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

1. A textile lubricant comprising from about 30 to 4 by weight of amineral oil, from about 2 to 5% of an alkyl phenol, from about 2 to 6%by weight of a substance selected from the group consisting of theformyl, acetyl, propionyl and butyryl esters of castor oil, and butylacetyl ricinoleate, of from about 5 to 25% by weight of a substanceselected from the group consisting of oxidized peanut oil, sulfonatedolive oil, sulfated higher fatty alcohols, oxidized olive oil andoxidized teaseed oil, from about 2 to 10% by Weight of a higher fattyacid, from about 3 to 20% by weight of an amine, and from about 4 to 20%by weight of an alkyl phosphate.

2. A textile lubricant comprising from about 30 to 65 by weight of amineral oil, from about 2 to 5% by weight of an alkyl phenol, from about2 to 6% by weight of a substance selected from the group consisting ofthe formyl, acetyl, propionyl and butyryl esters of castor oil, andbutyl acetyl ricinoleate, from about 5 to 25% by weight of oxidizedpeanut oil, from about 2 to 10% by weight of a higher fatty acid, fromabout 3 to 20% by weight of an alkanolamine, and from about 4 to 20% byweight of an alkyl phosphate.-

3. A textile lubricant comprising 59.5 parts by weight of a mineral oil,4.5 parts by weight of diamyl phenol, 4.0 parts by weight of butylacetyl ricinoleate, 20.0 parts by weight of oxidized peanut oil, 4.0parts by weight of oleic acid, 4.0 parts by weight of triethanolamine,and 4.0 parts by weight of the phosphate ester of mixed decanols.

4. Cellulose acetate continuous filament yarns lubricated with fromabout 30 to 65% by weight of a mineral oil, from about 2 to 5% by weightof an alkyl phenol, from about 2 to 6% by weight of a substance selectedfrom the group consisting of the formyl, acetyl, propionyl and butyrylesters of castor oil, and butyl acetyl ricinoleate, from about 5 to 25%by weight of oxidized peanut oil, from about 2 to 10% by weight of ahigher fatty acid, from about 3 to 20% by weight of an alkanolamine, andfrom about 4 to 20% by weight of an alkyl phosphate. 1 5. Celluloseacetate continuous filament yarns lubrig-ated with 59.5 parts by weightof a mineral oil, 4.5

parts by weight of diamyl phenol, 4.0 parts by weight butyl acetylricinoleate, 20.0 parts by weight of oxijZed peanut oil, 4.0 parts byweight of oleic acid, 4.0 parts by weight of triethanolamine, and 4.0parts by weight of the phosphate ester of mixed decanols.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSSeymour et al Nov. 20, 1951

1. A TEXTILE LUBRICANT COMPRISING FROM ABOUT 30 TO 65% BY WEIGHT OF AMINERAL OIL, FROM ABOUT 2 TO 5% OF AN ALKYL PHENOL, FROM ABOUT 2 TO 6%BY WEIGHT OF A SUBSTNCE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF THEFORMYL, ACETYL, PROPIONYL AND BUTYRYL ESTERS OF CASTOR OIL, AND BUTYLACETYL RICINOLAETE, OF FROM ABOUT 5 TO 25% BY WEIGHT OF A SUBSTANCESELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONHIGHER FATTY ALCOHOLS, OXIDIZED OLIVE ANDOXIDIZED TEASEED OIL, FROM ABOUT 2 TO 10% BY WEIGHT OF A HIGHER FATTYACID, FROM ABOUT 3 TO 20% BY WEIGHT OF AN AMINE, AND FROM ABOUT 4 TO 20%BY WEIGHT OF AN ALKYL PHOSPHATE.